Beauty And The Beast
by bluecatcinema
Summary: The last survivor of Darkhaven happens upon a new warren. A warren close to man, where one rabbit in particular stirs previously unknown feelings in him.


**Beauty and the Beast**

His name was Granite. A rabbit from Darkhaven warren, he had joined his fellows in an attack on Watership Down, led by General Woundwort, the prophesised "dark one." At first, the battle seemed to be going their way. But, just as victory seemed at hand, something impossible happened. The sky cracked open, and the Black Rabbit of Inlé himself descended upon them. Granite, usually fearless, was struck by a terror he had never imagined possible. He turned and fled. As he ran, he heard the screams of his fellow Darkhaven rabbits, but he did not dare stop and look behind him, for fear of sharing their fate. He just kept running, for how long, he did not know.

Eventually, he came upon one of man's works: A stone wall, with an iron gate nearby. Granite could smell other rabbits on the wind. Their close proximity to a dwelling of man didn't phase him much; The Darkhaven warren had been close to another of man's works, leading him to believe these other rabbits could possibly be like him. Though bigger then an average rabbit, Granite managed to squeeze himself through the gate's bars.

As he hopped across the path, following the scent, Granite found a most peculiar sight: A hedge, larger then any he had ever seen. Moving inside, Granite saw many twists and turns within. Trying to follow the scent proved difficult, as he was met with dead ends, and confusing turns. Eventually, exhaustion overtook him, and he collapsed.

As he came to, Granite found himself within a warren, surrounded by several worried rabbits. He felt a small patch of grass underneath him.

"How did I..." Granite croaked.

"Shh." One rabbit stepped up, a doe. "We found you outside, in pretty bad shape, too. Now, take it easy. Have some flayrah."

She nudged a carrot towards him. Granite stared at it skeptically.

"Why are you helping me?" He asked.

"Because you need it." She replied matter-of-factly.

Those words, and the way they were spoken, reminded Granite of the Watership Down doe, Blackberry. She had been held prisoner at Darkhaven not too long ago. When Spartina had been sent to infiltrate the Watership Down rabbits, Granite had been tasked with killing Blackberry if Spartina did not return by the next full moon (Woundwort reasoning that her absence could only mean she had been discovered and killed). Blackberry attempted to escape, and Granite had been grieviously injured trying to stop her. To his surprise, Blackberry stopped and tended to his wounds. Such a thing was forbidden by Darkhaven law; The wounded were to be left to perish. Granite was grateful for Blackberry's help, to the point where he tried to help her to escape.

When Woundwort led the Darkhaven rabbits to Watership Down, Granite hoped that Blackberry would have the sense to run; The thought of her getting hurt was unbearable. Whatever the Black Rabbit to the other Darkhaven rabbits, he seemed to have spared Watership Down, leaving Blackberry safe. That was one of very few comforting thoughts Granite had at the moment.

Warily, Granite took a bite out of the carrot. It was fresh and juicy. The food around Darkhaven was tough and tasteless, so the carrot was like ambrosia to him.

"Good, isn't it?" The doe smiled.

"Thank you." Granite mumbled reluctantly.

"You're welcome." The doe smiled. She made to leave, then turned back. "I'm Buttercup, by the way."

"Granite." The burly rabbit said gruffly.

The other rabbits left the chamber, clearly not comfortable around the stranger. It was then that Granite was hit by the full enormity of his situation; His comrades were gone, he was the last member of his warren, and he had nothing left but this unfamiliar warren and it's inhabitants. Before long, exhaustion once again overwhelmed him, and he fell asleep.

The following morning, Granite awoke, fully revitalized. As he got to his feet, Buttercup padded in.

"Feeling better, are we?" She asked.

Granite grunted non-committedly.

"You're welcome to stay for as long as you need to." Buttercup continued, undaunted. "We have plenty of food and room."

"Good." Granite said dully.

"If you don't mind my asking, what happened to you?" Buttercup asked. "How did you come to be in our hedge? Were you being chased by Elil?"

"You could say that." Granite sardonically replied. "Now, I have a question for you: Who is the chief rabbit here?"

"Chief rabbit?" Asked a nearby buck. "We have no chief rabbit."

"Oh, really?" Granite smirked. "In case, I think _I'll_ apply for the position."

"I don't think so, outsider!" A particulary bold buck stood up.

"Oh, you want to challenge me for the position?" Granite snarled.

"Challenge?!" The buck spluttered.

"It's how we did things in my old warren." Granite declared. "I was once the chief there. I got the position by fighting my way to the top."

"Fight?" The buck repeated, his confidence diminishing.

"Yeah, fight." Granite sneered. The burly rabbit towered over his rival, being almost twice his twice.

"L-look, there must be a better way to settle this." The buck stuttered.

"Maybe." Granite smirked. "But until we figure it out, this'll do for now."

Granite raised his paw, ready to slash his opponent. Before he could make his move, another, much smaller paw placed itself against his. The paw belonged to Buttercup.

"That's enough." She said firmly.

Granite looked at her. There was a hard, steely look in her eyes. It reminded him of some of the strongest Darkhaven rabbits. Slowly, he lowered his paw.

"We don't have a chief rabbit because we don't _need_ a chief rabbit." Buttercup declared. "Man takes care of us."

"Man?!" Granite snarled.

"Yes." Buttercup nodded. "He made the hedge our warren is hidden in, and he provides us with food when we need it."

Granite balked. Living near man was one thing, but to receive food from man?

"So you're just a bunch of pets, is that it?" He asked contemptuously.

"Not exactly." Buttercup replied. "Man mostly leaves us to our own devices. We are free to do as we please."

"Unbelievable." Granite spat. "This whole warren is a joke, an insult to all true rabbits."

"Then why don't you just leave?" Buttercup shot back. "There's nothing stopping you. Why not?"

"Because..." Granite swallowed. "I have nowhere to go. My old warren is now empty, and the only other warren I know of would not be happy to have me."

"You warren is empty?" Buttercup asked.

"Yes." Granite admitted. "All my comrades were lost... in battle."

"I see." Buttercup nodded. "Well, you could stay here, as long as you promise to cause any more trouble."

"Stay here?" Granite repeated. "No, I'm a warrior. Fighting is all I know. I'm not cut out for a life like yours. Never was."

"Well, maybe it's time for a change." Buttercup smiled.

Left with no option, Granite did indeed stay. Most of the other rabbits kept their distance from him... except for Buttercup. For some reason, she went out of her way to interact with him, striking up conversations and even offering some of her food to share. The doe was a complete mystery to Granite. Even Blackberry hadn't confused him like this. As much as Granite didn't want to admit it, he was touched by Buttercup's attempts to reach out to him. However, his stubborn pride refused to let him return the favor, save for a grunt, or a mumbled "thank you."

One day, Granite stepped out of the warren for some fresh air. As he sniffed deeply, he picked up the unmistakable scent of a weasel in the air. A rustling sound indicated that the beast was crawling through the hedges towards him.

"I can smell you, longears..." The weasel's voice hissed through the bush. "Coming to get youuuu..."

His first instinct was to face the intruder, but his thoughts suddenly turned to the warren. He didn't much care about most of the rabbits, but Buttercup was a different matter. Hopping back inside, he called "Elil! Elil!"

The rabbits scattered. As Granite turned back to the entrance, he saw the weasel in the flesh.

"Big longears." The Weasel grinned, appraising Granite. "You'll fill me up nicely."

"Just try it." Granite growled. "RAAARHHH!"

Granite charged the Weasel, ramming into it head-on. Tumbling to the floor, the Weasel snarled.

"You'll pay for that, longears." It hissed.

"It's been too long since I had a good fight." Granite smiled. "Bring it on!"

The two charged each other, snapping and clawing fiercely. The battle was interrupted by Buttercup's sudden appearance.

"Granite, what are you doing?" She gasped. "Get away from that beast!"

"I run from nothing!" Granite roared, shamed by his previous flight from certain death. "Not even Elil!"

Taking advantage of the distraction, the Weasel clawed Granite in the back leg, causing him to drop to the ground in agony.

"AAGH!" Granite seethed.

In response, Buttercup rammed the Weasel in the side. The attack wasn't that strong, but it surprised the Elil, and it fall against the tunnel wall. Granite gaped in astonishment. The usually friendly look on Buttercup's face had once again given way to a hard glare.

"Can you stand?" She asked.

"Of course." Granite smirked.

"Longears..." The Weasel hissed. "Now, you've made me angry!"

The Weasel lunged at Buttercup, but Granite intercepted it, knocking it into the opposite wall.

"You should get out of here." Granite told Buttercup.

"Not a chance." Buttercup growled.

"Fair enough." Granite smiled. "We'll do it together, then."

At the same time, Granite and Buttercup headbutted the Weasel, sending it flying out of the warren. They then gave chase, determined to drive it away once and for all.

"You're not welcome here!" Buttercup yelled.

"Leave now, or you'll be sorry!" Granite added.

They pushed the Weasel back towards the mouth of the maze.

"No longears can keep me away." The Weasel snarled. "I'll just keep coming back, until I get you all..."

Suddenly, a net came down on the Weasel. Man had come, and he lifted the struggling Elil in his net, barely responding to it's hissing and attempts to escape. Without a second thought, he turned and left.

"What just happened?" Granite asked, nonplussed.

"Like I told you, man takes care of us." Buttercup declared. "If he finds Elil lurking about, he gets rid of them."

"Never thought I'd see the day that rabbits have a use for man." Granite mused.

"Oh, and by the way..." Buttercup sidled up to Granite, then struck him on the ear.

"Ow!" Granite winced.

"You thick-eared fool!" Buttercup chastised him. "What were you thinking, taking on that beast by yourself?"

"I could ask you the same question." Granite retorted.

"Yes, welll..." Buttercup mumbled. "I suppose we both acted a little foolishly..."

"Thanks, by the way." Granite smiled. "Not that I actually needed the help, but I appreciated it."

"An actual 'thanks'?" Buttercup smirked. "Just how hard did that weasel hit you, anyway?"

"Very funny." Granite snorted. As he moved towards the warren, a jolt of pain ran up his back leg. "AAH!"

"Come on." Buttercup pushed up against Granite's side. "Let's get you inside, so I can have a look at that."

Once in the safety of the warren, Buttercup attended to Granite's wound, tenderly licking it clean.

"It's not too bad." Buttercup scrutinised the damage. "A little rest, and it should heal in no time."

"Thank you." Granite smiled, finally admitting his gratitude. "For everything."

"No, thank _you_." Buttercup smiled back.

"For what?" Granite asked.

"For warning us." Buttercup replied. "You didn't have to, but you did."

"To be honest, I was warning _you_." Granite replied. "Very few rabbits have treated me the way you have. I had to return the favor somehow."

Buttercup looked right at Granite, her eyes bright and beautiful. Struck by a sudden impulse, Granite leant forward, touching his nose to hers for the briefest of moments.

"Well..." Buttercup flushed.

"Maybe living here won't be so bad after all." Granite smiled. "As long as you're around, that is."

"_That's_ your attempt at charm?" Buttercup smiled. "You'll have to work on that."

"Oh, I will." Granite smirked. "I will."

Buttercup slept next to Granite that night, and every night since, even though his wounds healed in just a couple of days. They stayed close together all through winter, and in the spring, a litter of kits appeared in the warren. Granite and Buttercup, the most unlikely of pairs, had started a family. Despite the fact that Granite often tried to teach the kits how to fight behind their mother's back (Old habits die hard, after all), their life was quiet and uneventful. Granite had finally found a measure of peace in the seemingly hard, cruel world. He often thought that if it weren't for the Black Rabbit, none of this would have happened, of which he was actually grateful for. On the inevitable day that their paths would cross again, Granite intended to thank him for it.

**The End.**

_(Watership Down and all associated characters are the property of Richard Adams and Martin Rosen.)_


End file.
